Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country
Founded 05-05-05
February 22, 2007 issue
ASU Small Business and Technology Development Center—Small Business Oasis
Story by Sam Calhoun
Ninety-seven percent of businesses in America are small businesses, according to Bill Parrish of the regional Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC), but small businesses are notoriously hard to foster and grow.
Fortunately entrepreneurs in Watauga County have an ally—ASU’s branch of the SBTDC, located in Raley Hall as part of the ASU Walker College of Business.
ASU’s branch of the SBTDC is one of seventeen offices across North Carolina—each is affiliated with a college or university—with the mission to help small business owners and those interested in starting their own business meet the challenges of today’s business environment, manage changes and plan for the future.
The SBTDC provides management counseling and educational services to small and mid-sized businesses throughout the High Country. Most of the services are free and all are confidential.
At the SBTDC website—www.sbtdc.org—interested parties can learn about services and download information.
Available online is the Business Start-Up and Resource Guide, a document packed with must-have information for aspiring business owners.
The ASU SBTDC also offers general business services. One of these services is management counseling where SBTDC employees help clients understand and implement financing, marketing, human resources, operations, business planning and feasibility assessments. Another service is management education in which SBTDC employees provide targeted, research-based educational products focused on change management, strategic performance and leadership development for clients’ management teams, employees and board members.
But SBTDC duties don’t stop once a small business gets off the ground. The center’s special market development services are specifically designed to aid growing companies in expanding their markets and increasing their competitiveness.
SBTDC staff can also provide research and marketing support services for SBTDC clients, primary research on small business needs and economic impact, and special projects such as small business incubator feasibility studies. The government procurement service helps businesses secure contracts by providing assistance in selling products and services to federal, state and local governments.
The SBTDC also assists technology-based businesses through management counseling and Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) outreach.
Find more information on all of these services by clicking to www.sbtdc.org, or by calling 828-262-2492.
SCORE Provides Help To Watauga County’s Small Businesses
Just under two years ago, the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) opened a branch office in Watauga County at the Appalachian Enterprise Center to assist people in the area who are starting a business or need help with an existing business. The office is a branch of the Asheville chapter of SCORE.
Members of SCORE—an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization—consider themselves counselors to America’s small business and help foster small business through one-on-one counseling services as well as entrepreneurial training workshops and business seminars. The organization’s volunteer base is comprised of retired executives, entrepreneurs and active business people willing to share their knowledge and experience with those who need it. All counselors go through an orientation process and are matched with clients whose business aspirations relate to their backgrounds.
The office is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and community members are encouraged to call to make appointments.
Counseling services are free.
To make an appointment with SCORE, call 828-265-4185. For more information, click to www.score.org.